Starting Over
by imaginationwanted
Summary: My brows furrowed before a thought crossed my mind. "Ben, do you know who I am?" I focused on keeping my voice steady as I searched his eyes for some spark of recognition. "Should I…?" Ben/OC
1. Chapter 1

**This is a Ben/OC fanfic. I noticed there weren't that many out there, and I've got a soft spot for the kid. If you guys like it, I'll continue it. First few chapter will be a little short (and mainly flashbacks, just to get a feel for their relationship).**

* * *

It was high school when I first met him. Officially, at least.

It wasn't like some big romantic mushy moment, really. I wasn't some new kid who was lost and alone and Ben rescued me, or the other way around. And although we've 'known' each other for as long as I can remember, it wasn't like we had a strong friendship for years that then blossomed into true love.

No, it was much more simple than that. We had classes together since we were little. In elementary school we always had the same teacher, and once we moved to higher grades Ben and I were placed in the gifted English classes together. You could say he was the nerdy type. I liked that about him.

Basically, Ben and I were the smile-at-in-the-hallway type of friends, not the stop-and-make-conversation friends. That is until Mrs. Padgett assigned us our first big English project. It spanned over the entire 2nd quarter; and during the quarter we would be required to spend most of the time with our partners.

...

"_Now class, I understand your uneasiness, but like it or not partners will be _assigned _for this project."_

"_Crap," Alyssa muttered. She's my best friend, who I was looking forward to working with. We were already planning the project out together, what were we supposed to do now?_

"_Students who struggled in the first quarter will be paired with those who thrived. I hope this will be a beneficial experience for everyone," Mrs. Padgett further explained._

_I rolled my eyes and let out a soft groan. I did not do well last quarter. My procrastination led to late grades on most of my assignments. I swear to God if I got stuck with Victor, who was a cliché mixture of a nerd and teacher's pet, I would kill myself before the semester ended._

_Padgett ignored groans from some of the other students and continued, "In order to save some time so you kids can get to know your partners, I've posted a list of the pairings." She held up a neatly organized list of names. After pinning it on the bulletin she let us take a look._

_I scanned the paper before reaching my name._

Ingrid Michaels…Ben Mason

_I shrugged. I knew him, but not too well. We've had classes together for a while. Maybe it was time we finally became friends._

"_Hey," someone called from behind me. I turned around to see Ben politely smiling at me._

"_Oh, um hi," I said awkwardly. I started scratching my arm nervously while he sort of just stood there._

_This was gonna be _so_ much fun._

...

_After sitting down together, we ended up talking about ourselves. Mrs. Padgett already explained how today was for getting to know each other. Tomorrow was when we'd actually get to work on the project._

_Despite the awkward beginning, Ben and I were able to spend the hour just talking; and joking, and laughing, and generally just messing around. Turns out we both had a passion for math, the Harry Potter series, and animals. Well, he just mainly liked dogs, but I admitted that I could find any animal adorable. I was embarrassed about how stupid it sounded, but he said it was cute. Needless to say I also spent that hour blushing a lot._

...

_I slightly jumped as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Time for lunch. I was kind of disappointed that I wouldn't see Ben 'til tomorrow. He was cute and funny and smart and sweet and… and just amazing all around. He was just so easy to talk to. I mean, how could I have gone all these years without being friends with him?_

"_Hey, Ingrid," Ben said, stopping me before I left the classroom._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Do you want to maybe have lunch with me?" He asked. He looked kind of nervous too, which made me smile a little._

"_Sure. Walk me to my locker…?" I asked unsurely._

_He face broke out into a grin. "Definitely."_

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**That's it for now! Updating soon.. :)**

**xoxo Jackie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back again! More memories today, continuing from where we left off. Enjoy…**

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"_Wait, where are we going?" I gave Ben a confused look. We were headed in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. _

"_Relax, Ingrid," Ben cooed. I adored the way he said my name. Maybe it was just my hormonal teenage self, but I couldn't get over the way it made me feel. "I want to show you something else."_

"_Ooh, skipping lunch are we? Who knew Ben Mason was such a _rebel_."_

_Our laughs echoed through the emptied hallway. He made a sudden turn into one of the room. I threw him a look, the art room wasn't exactly an adventure._

"_Just a detour," He assured me._

_I watch him walk over to art teacher Ms. Oscoe, or Ms. O for short. I was still standing in the doorway as he talked with her. I couldn't make out the words they were saying, but I could see Ms. O hand Ben something. He walked over to me with a smile on his face, turning around momentarily for a quick 'thank you' to Ms. O. I gave a little wave to her as Ben led me out the door._

"_What was that all about?" I asked._

_He held up a pass. "I was just asking for a pass in case any administrators catch us."_

"_Okay, seriously Ben, where the heck are you taking me?" My head was spinning trying to think of anything remotely interesting in this school, there were hardly any. Much less something that would get us in trouble if we were caught without a pass. Most places in our school you could roam around and no one would care, so where would we go?_

_I didn't mind the mystery though. I had a feeling this was going to be a good day. (And not because I get to start polynomials in math…)_

_He led me towards the 1000 building. It was a short building on the edge of our school. The place look abandoned during the lunch period, but going inside I could see a few teachers eating and talking in the classrooms. Ben took me up to the second floor, stopping at what looked like a janitor's closet._

"_I don't know what ideas you got running through your head, but I do not plan on spending lunch in the closet with you…"_

"_Jeez, Ingrid, someone's got a dirty mind," he teased. "It's actually a stairwell," he said pushing the door open. "It leads to the garden on the roof."_

_My mouth formed a small 'o'. He was taking me to a garden? Me? What does that mean? Does he like me? Or does he do this with all of his friends? Wait – does he take other girls up here with him? Am I just one of many?_

_I shook my head to clear my thoughts. That's ridiculous. Ben's too honest and sweet, nothing like a player. I'm just over-thinking this._

"_After you," he gestured towards the entrance._

_I walked out and into the garden. To say it was beautiful was an understatement. As much as I hated to say it – it was like that scene and High School Musical, the one where Troy and Gabriella snuck out onto their school's rooftop garden. Except I doubt it was so cold. After all, it was fall in Boston._

"_It's something, huh?" Ben asked softly._

"_You have no idea."_

_We sat on a bench and looked out at the neighboring houses and trees. I drew in a shaky breath and pulled my jacket tighter over me._

"_Cold?" Ben looked at me in concern._

"_Like always. I don't think I'll ever get used to the cold. Even if I have lived here my whole life."_

_Ben laughed. "I know what you mean. We could scoot closer together, share body heat." He wiggled his eyebrows and I slapped him playfully even though I was giggling._

_I scooted my butt until I was right next to him. "Just don't get any ideas, Mr. Mason." I wagged my finger at him._

"_Never," Ben teased, his smile melt-worthy. _

_He put his arm around me and squeezed my side. My eyes widened as a blush turned my entire face red. Thank goodness he was staring at the view rather than me._

…_I don't know whether it was his body heat or the fact that his arm was surrounding me, but soon I felt all warm inside. We stayed in that position, just like that, looking at the view. It was quiet, peaceful. And although my stomach was craving food, I didn't pay much attention to it. I was content._

...

_The bell rang a few minutes later, letting us know it was time for class. We both sprung up from the bench, each of us having to get to our lockers and then off to different classes._

_Ben scratched the back of his neck. "So I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?"_

"_Tomorrow's Saturday Ben," I giggled softly._

"_Oh, yeaah, um, forgot about that," he said awkwardly._

"_Unless you want to maybe hang out…?" Oh God I sounded so nervous. He was just a boy. Just a boy. Okay, so he made me go weak at the knees; but still. Just a boy._

"_Yeah," Ben perked up eagerly. "I'll text you?"_

_I pulled out my phone and he typed his number in my contacts. When he gave it back I got a look at the time and realized I'd be late for class if I didn't leave now._

"_Crap! Um see you later Ben! Text me the details!" I shouted as I left. I was halfway through the door before I turned back and ran over to him. I gave him a quick hug before dashing off to Algebra 2._

_Looking over my should though, I could see Ben standing there with a dazed look and a half-smile on his face._

Yeah,_ I decided. _Today was a good day.

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**And there we go! The fluffiness ensues. Probably one or two more flashbacks before we get to the after-invasion stuff. Don't worry though, I'm a fast uploader. ;)**

**review, favorite, and follow! c:**

**xoxo Jackie**

**P.S. thanks to ebi_pers for the review! check him out, he's a good writer and writes falling skies fanfiction as well. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Picking up where we left off last chapter…**

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_I was nervous. There, I said it. I was completely and utterly nervous about seeing Ben. I hated hanging out with someone outside of school for the first time. It was awkward. For example, when Stephanie and I spent the night at her house for the first time, we had no idea what to do. The first three hours were just… just really awkward. That is until she broke out the cookie dough and Ryan Gosling movies. We were good after that._

_But what if Ben realized that I'm a stupid silly girl who he wasn't interested in? I was not looking forward to the idea of being friendzoned._

_I looked back to the text he sent._

"Hey! How about you come around tomorrow at noon? Then we can do whatever you want. :)"

_After that he had left his address. The place wasn't too far from mine, probably a five-minute drive._

"_Ugh," I groaned. I was supposed to be meeting him at noon and it was already 4 a.m. I was being kept up by all the different scenarios running through my mind of what could happen tomorrow._

_I shifted my position so I could get out of my bed._ I need my sleeping pills, _I thought. They were prescribed for when I got anxious and couldn't fall asleep, which usually only happens when I have a big presentation or some sort of awards ceremony the next day._

_After grabbing two and a glass of water from downstairs, I swallowed the pills. I laid back down and tried pushing the nervous thoughts out of my head, instead focusing on counting sheep._

…

_Warmth flooded over my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to wake up. I tried flipping over to the other side, but I couldn't fall back asleep. I was always like that. Once I'm awake, I stay awake._

_I yawned rubbing my eyes softly. _What time is it?_ I wondered. That was when it hit me. _Oh God I'm supposed to be meeting Ben at noon!

_I fumbled for my phone to get a look at the time. 11:43. Crap. No time for a shower. Luckily my hair wasn't the 'get-greasy-after-one-day' type of hair, like my friend Alyssa's._

_I jumped up out of my bad and grabbed the clothes I laid out the other night. Just jeans and a lacey long sleeved shirt. Nice, but casual. After changing I decided to just brush my hair. I liked my hair, it always had a slight wave to it, so I never had to waste much effort on it. Plus, the dark brown color went well with might light skin and green eyes. I glanced at my phone to see it was now 11:54. Not too late, I can still make it if someone's willing to give me a ride._

"_Hey, mom? Dad? Josh?" I called as I headed downstairs. "Anyone home?"_

"_Yeah," my older brother Josh muttered, mouth full of Doritos. "Why?"_

"_Oh, I was wondering if someone could give me a ride? I'm going to my friend's house." I handed him my phone, showing the address Ben texted me._

"_Wait a sec – I know that place. The Mason's, right?" He gave me a bewildered look. He probably thought I was headed off to see Hal, Ben's brother that was the same age as Josh._

"_Yeah," I answered. "I'm gonna go see Ben."_

"_Ooh, someone's got a boyfriend, huh?" Josh taunted. " Who knew? My little sis dating a Mason."_

_I blushed brightly. "We are _not _dating. We're just friends." I wouldn't admit that those words tasted bitter coming out of my mouth. "Will you just give me a ride?"_

"_Yeah, why not?" He grabbed his keys off the counter and we went out the door, me grabbing the bag of Doritos to snack on for breakfast. As we were getting in the car he added, "Might even stick around if Hal's there."_

"_Please don't," I said under my breath._

…

_This was really weird. It turns out his mother stayed at home unexpectedly today, and his father had his class canceled. So now I was meeting Ben's parents, in addition to his little brother Matt. Luckily Hal had gone off somewhere, so that meant my brother had dropped me off in peace. _

_But after the "hello"s and "how are you"s, Ben took my hand and dragged me up to his room. Thank God I wouldn't have to force conversation with his parents. Don't get me wrong, they were nice. But I just wasn't prepared to meet the family._

_When we got to his room, Ben walked in and sat on his bed while I just watched from the doorway. His room was average. Slightly messy, a few clothes thrown here and there, books laid out haphazardly. I noticed a guitar case in the corner._

"_Learning to play?" I ventured, gesturing to the guitar._

"_Hmm?" He looked to where I was looking. "Oh yeah," He said sort of sheepishly. "I'm not really musically talented, but I wanted to see if I was any good."_

"_And?" I trailed off._

"_It's hard," He chuckled. "Well, I'm getting better at it. I can play a few chords, but I can't manage a song yet. I like it though."_

_When I finally entered the room, I sat next to him on the bed. "Could you teach me? I've always wanted to play the guitar," I asked nervously._

"_Yeah!" He quickly grabbed the guitar case. I was a little surprised by his eagerness. He was probably nervous about today too._

_Once he got the guitar out, he handed it to me. I just held it at an arm's length not sure what to do. He laughed and fixed my arms until I was in the position to play. After that, he showed me were to press down, and then grabbed my hand and strummed the guitar lightly._

"_The was chord G. The hardest part about playing for me is remembering where each chord is." He said._

_He continued on with showing the chords he knew, and even though I'm fairly certain I could strum on my own, he kept his hand over mine. I didn't mind._

…

_We ended up laying on his bed, side-by-side, facing the ceiling. We were playing games to get to know each other, seeing as we'd only started talking two weeks ago. Right now we were playing favorites._

"_Favorite color?" I asked, squinting at the ceiling._

"_Red. You?"_

_I bit my lip. "Purple, I guess. I like light springy green a lot too."_

"_What about your favorite animal?" _

"_Depends. I like whales a lot, but I think having a turtle for a pet would be amazing. I adore them."_

"_Hmm," he paused. "I like dogs. They're sweet, and loyal. I had one when I was younger - Theo, a German Shepherd. He was great."_

_I found his hand on the bed and started tracing lightly into it. I didn't even realize what I was doing or why, I just did it._

"_I know what you mean," I hummed softly in agreement. "I used to have a few dogs, but they all died over time. There were three of them. Reena, Bo, and Shadow. Sort of random names. We got them when I was little, all at the same time. They were Labradors from the same litter. They got old and passed eventually. They were the best dogs anyone could ask for."_

_We both just sat there in silence for a while after that. Then we heard his parents call for him, saying that it was time for me to go. I hadn't realized it was already 6 p.m. and that we'd been talking for hours. They asked if I wanted to stay for dinner, but I declined and called my brother to pick me up. He showed up a few minutes later._

_After saying my goodbyes and thanking them for letting me come over, I hugged Ben. It wasn't long or anything, but it felt good. I liked hugging him. I got in the car and rested my head against the window, replaying the day over in my mind._

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**Okay so I'm thinking one more chapter and we go into the after-invasion period. Let me know what you think!**

**review, favorite, and follow! hehe c:**

**xoxo Jackie**


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